RODSERVATIONS FOR PEDERSEN MEDIA SUMMIT 2.0

With Brett Wilson Wednesday in Estevan

A RIDER DOZEN ODDS N' ENDS

1 - It was a fantastic evening on Wednesday in Estevan at the Bruins Annual Sports Celebrity Dinner. This year's keynote speaker was Western Canadian tycoon Brett Wilson, the former star of CBC's Dragons Den, and all-around good guy.

While the invitation to Wilson may seem odd since the Bruins have traditionally hosted sports figures such as Ray Bourque, Marty McSorley, Darian Durant, Chris Jones and Corey Chamblin over the years, it all made sense when Wilson launched into his experience in the Oil, Gas and Energy sectors during his 60-minute address.

He was speaking to the right crowd in the Energy City.

2 - Two of my favourite Wilson quips were regarding his time on Dragons Den, and one of his other favourite topics: politics.

"Kevin O'Leary is a prick," Wilson twinkled. "But he's my favourite prick!"

And Wilson made a bold proclamation as well.

"If Brad Wall ever runs for Prime Minister of Canada representing the Conservative Party," Wilson predicted, "I will run for MP in Calgary. That's because he's the only one who can affect change in this country."

Wilson also addressed the nearly-dead Calgary-NEXT project which is trying to garner funding for a new arena for the NHL's Flames. He called Calgary Mayor Nenshi's stance on the project, "narrow-minded and shortsighted."

3 - I wasn't aware until this week that Wilson holds a minority ownership stake in the NHL's Nashville Predators and of all the topics he's able to discuss, it was the Predators which holds his passion right now. The Preds are what he wanted to talk about the most.

It was an exciting evening because not only had I never seen Wilson speak before, I'd never met him. However from all accounts from people who have, he's a humble, down-to-earth Saskatchewan guy.

He didn't disappoint.

Oh, and he wasn't afraid to name-drop either. :)

"Ever hear of a guy named Bob Lowes?" Wilson asked over appetizers at Willy's Taphouse in Estevan before the banquet. "He's my first cousin."

4 - I did a 20-minute talk on the Roughriders Wednesday evening but when the floor was opened up to questions, the first one was about the Regina Pats.

"Will they be as good next year?" one guy asked. "And will Tyson Jost play here next year?"

I answered those questions as best I could, but preferred to focus on this year's Pats squad.

5 - And yes, the Pats are the talk of Southern Saskatchewan right now as they prepare to host the Seattle Thunderbirds in Game 1 of the Western Hockey League Championship Series on Friday night.

What's shocked me the most this week is the amount of people in the province - presumably fans of other Saskatchewan WHL teams - who hope the Pats lose this series.

Talk about poor sportsmanship.

6 - As far as the series with Seattle goes, I'm taking the Pats in 7.

Why not?

7 - Television coverage of the WHL Final has not been well-publicized but from what I've gathered, the series will be shown on Access and Shaw across Western Canada. Peter Loubardias and Bill Wilms will have the call.

8 - I've never heard more complaining about officiating - EVER - than in these Stanley Cup Playoffs. It's at the point of becoming nauseating.

Has it really been that bad? Or is it just sour grapes from the losing teams? I haven't watched enough games to form an opinion. It seems pretty standard from what I've seen.

9 - On the Anaheim Ducks radio broadcast of last night's 4-3 overtime win at Edmonton, the announcers were crowing about Ducks first round pick Sam Steel of the Regina Pats. It came up since Steel was named WHL Player of the Year on Thursday and the announcers were comparing him to Patrick Kane and John Tavares.

Those are big skates to fill, but Sam is more than capable of becoming an NHL star.

10 - The last Regina Pat to be named WHL MVP was Jordan Eberle but, my goodness, does that seem like ages ago. Particularly since Eberle is the favourite whipping boy in Edmonton right now, and was benched by the Oilers Wednesday night.

From what I could see on Twitter, Eberle wasn't talking to the media after the game about the benching.

No matter how these playoffs turn out for Edmonton, it's likely time for a change for Jordan.

Will the Oilers leave the one-time star unprotected for the expansion draft? You'd have to think he'd be a popular choice by the Golden Knights if that's the case.

11 - Speaking of the Golden Knights, it speaks volumes that their hiring of Gary Lawless away from TSN on Wednesday drew infinitely more publicity than the impending CFL Draft which goes on Sunday.

The lack of interest in the CFL Draft should be viewed as a crisis, but not just for the CFL. It's a pandemic for TSN, Canadian university football and for fans of the game all across Canada.

Do you have any idea who the top prospects are for the draft?

12 - The news of the latest fines levied against the Saskatchewan Roughriders by the CFL has been a very hot topic in the 306 this week. So many times I've heard people say, "These latest fines are one last shot at the Riders by Commissioner Jeffrey Orridge before he leaves office."

To me, that's absolute hogwash. Orridge was never behind the original fines in the first place - even though he signed his name at the bottom of the page - and I'd be shocked if he had anything to do with last week's discipline. This is all back room stuff.

13 - The 2017 Roughriders Plaza of Honour inductees were announced on Tuesday and Wes Cates and Roger Brandvold make up a resplendent class.

All you need to know about Wes Cates is that he played the 2007 Grey Cup on a broken foot. "I don't care how broken it is," Wes told me before that game. "I'll throw it over my shoulder if I have to."

And Roger Brandvold exudes class, represented the Roughriders magnificently during his time on the Board of Directors, and was a driving force behind the construction of new Mosaic Stadium.

"It's the finest mid-sized open air stadium on the continent," Brandvold said on Tuesday.

Both men should take a bow, and be very proud of their accomplishments.

WE'RE COMING TO MOOSE JAW!

Join other small businesses, area sports teams and Communications professionals at the 2nd Annual Pedersen Media Summit to be held at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw on Saturday, May 27. I'll show you how to maximize your exposure through Social Media and Media Relations, and discuss the latest concept of Social Media Valuation.

To register for the event click here. For more information email pedersenmedia@outlook.com or visit our website www.pedersenmedia.ca.

A huge THANK YOU to the Moose Jaw Warriors for sponsoring this year's summit. Proceeds will go to the Moose Jaw Warriors Education Fund.

Looking forward to seeing you and having some fun in the Band City in a few weeks!

RP
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